Question

read the passage from chapter 17 of the prince. nevertheless he ought to be slow to believe and to act, nor should he himself show fear, but proceed in a temperate manner with prudence and humanity, so that too much confidence may not make him incautious and too much distrust render him intolerable. what meaning is emphasized by the words temperate, prudence, and humanity in the paragraph?

• that princes are even harsher than machiavelli describes
• that readers should not have sympathy for a prince
• that a prince should only be cruel when necessary
• that weak rulers must learn to be frightening

Explanation:

The passage advises a prince to act with temperance, prudence, and humanity to avoid being incautious or intolerable. This aligns with the idea that cruelty should only be used when necessary, as the focus is on balanced, restrained behavior rather than harshness, lack of sympathy, or forced harshness for weak rulers.

Answer:

that a prince should only be cruel when necessary